Students from Hillcrest Elementary School in Nederland will form a human flag in honor of Veterans Day on Friday, Nov. 9, at 8 a.m.

“We’ve been doing it for over 10 years,” said Brad Smith, assistant principal of Hillcrest Elementary. “Our student body wears red, white and blue shirts and we assemble into a flag.”

The ceremony will take place in front of the school at 2611 Ave. H in Nederland. Veterans and those serving in the military are invited to join in the celebration.

Surprise welcome home parade in Nederland

There will be a welcome home parade for a U.S. Marine at noon Friday, Nov. 9, in Nederland. Businesses, churches, daycares, schools and community patriots are encouraged to make signs to welcome him home.

Kelli Ellis, administrative assistant at the Nederland Chamber of Commerce, said the Marine’s name is being withheld to provide the ultimate surprise welcome home celebration for him.

“He is supposed to arrive between noon and 12:30 p.m.,” she said.

Citizens are encouraged to come to Nederland Ave. and show their support. For more information, call (409) 722-0279.

Marine Corps Ball and Charity Gala on Saturday

The Marine Corps Ball and Charity Gala will be Nov. 10 at the MCM Eleganté Hotel in Beaumont. The social hour begins at 6 p.m., a ceremony at 7 p.m., with dinner served at 7:30. Dancing with music provided by the Night and Day Orchestra will take place from 8:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. The guest of honor for the evening will be Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, retired lieutenant colonel, USMC.

The evening’s activities are organized and presented by the 1st Sgt. Joyce Venable Detachment of the Marine Corps League. According to retired Colonel Chris A. Lamson, USMC, funds raised at the event will go toward the support of local wounded warriors. “We have a lot to be thankful for in Southeast Texas,” said Lamson, “and a lot of our family members and neighbors have given much to ensure that we can still enjoy our freedoms. These returning heroes deserve our support and encouragement as they return to civilian life with a bright future ahead of them.”

Lamson adds that proceeds from the Marine Corps Ball and Charity Gala will stay in Southeast Texas to support the disabled veterans that call it home.

Dress for the evening is formal or black tie. Marines are encouraged to wear service dress uniforms if possible. Tickets are $50 per person.

For corporate sponsorship or donor information, call Lamson at (619) 208-4040. For other information about the event, call James Brayton at (409) 735-6928, Joe Beck at (409) 670-8386 or Jim Beck at (409) 626-1819.

– Brenda Cannon Henley

Port Neches Veterans Day observance

There will be a Veterans Day observance at 10 a.m. at the Oak Bluff Memorial Park in Port Neches. The park is at 101 Block St.

American Legion Post 49 to celebrate Veterans Day

American Legion Post 49 will celebrate the service of all U.S. military veterans Sunday, Nov. 11, starting in Vidor and ending in downtown Orange,

At noon on Sunday, members of the American Legion Family will meet at the Legion Hall on Green Avenue in Orange to travel as a group to the dedication ceremony for the new Fields of Freedom Veterans Park in Vidor at 1 p.m.

This park will be the location of the Orange County Vietnam War Memorial to be separately dedicated next Memorial Day.

Activities will include a talk by a general and an Air Force flyover. A military band will provide music for the event.

Following the ceremony in Vidor, Post 49 will hold a flag retirement ceremony at the Legion Hall at 3:30 p.m. After the flag retirement ceremony, there will be refreshments and a cash bar available to the participants. Food will be served as long as it is available.

The ceremonies and after-ceremony celebration are open to the public. The Legion Hall is at 108 Green Ave. in Orange. Fields of Freedom Veterans Park is at 385 Claiborne St. in Vidor.

“This event is a truly special one for our staff as we worked closely with (Vietnam Veterans of America) Chapter 292 during the construction and installation of the monument (four years ago),” said Kathi Hughes, director of Ben J. Rogers Regional Visitors Center. “We feel honored to be the recipient of this statue and are able to see many veterans and families hug, reminisce, and shed tears while viewing it. It is a special day for all our veterans and everyone should come out to pay tribute to them.”

Sgt. Maj. James Stone, who is stationed at the Port of Beaumont with Army Detachment, will be a special speaker at the ceremony. Trumpeters Cade Owen and Michael Duhon will provide music, and several members of VVA Chapter 292 will participate in the program.

“This is an observance honoring all veterans of all eras of all the uniformed services,” VVA Chapter 292 President Kerwin Stone said. “It is a day of remembrance and pride for all who have worn the uniform of our country. This observance is steeped in history: the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, which as a practical matter does fall on Sunday every several years. There are other observances of Veterans Day in our area, some of which take place on different days, or perhaps at different hours; the important point for all of us to keep in mind is the importance of remembering the sacrifices of those who have worn our country’s uniform, in peacetime or in war, because each of our men and women in uniform took oaths that they were prepared to give their all in order to keep our country free – and some did just that.”

The Vietnam Veterans Chapter 292, sponsors of the event, raised the funds, which enabled the All Veterans Memorial to be erected on the grounds of the Visitors Center in 2008.

The Ben J. Rogers Visitors Center is at 5055 Interstate 10 S. in Beaumont. For more information, call (409) 842-0500.

Pizza Inn of Port Neches offers complimentary buffet

In honor of Veterans Day, Pizza Inn of Port Neches will offer all veterans and active duty military a complimentary buffet on Sunday, Nov. 11.

“Our veterans and military serve us every single day,” said Donny Broussard, owner of Pizza Inn of Port Neches. “This is our small way of showing gratitude and saying thanks to these brave individuals.”

To receive the complimentary buffet, valid credentials or military identification are required. This offer is available, no purchase necessary, while supplies last at select Pizza Inn restaurants for active or retired military only.

Pizza Inn of Port Neches is at 1501 Magnolia Ave. and is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Call (409) 722-4600 for additional information.

St. Anthony Veterans Day celebration

St. Anthony Presbyterian Church is holding a Veterans Day celebration Nov. 11 at noon. The Vidor Junior High band will be performing patriotic tunes, and there will be a tribute to veterans. St. Anthony Presbyterian Church is at 1350 N. 23rd St. in Beaumont. For more information, call (409) 892-8611.

Raising Cane’s restaurant to donate percentage of sales to veterans’ program

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers announced it would donate 15 percent of its Monday, Nov. 12, Veterans Day sales at local area restaurants from all customers that either bring in a flyer or mention the Lone Survivor Foundation.

The fundraising initiative covers 14 Cane’s restaurants in the Beaumont, Waco, College Station and Houston markets.

“All of us at Raising Cane’s are proud of, and grateful to, the men and women that have sacrificed so much to protect and defend our liberty,” said John Segura, area-marketing manager for Cane’s. “We’ve been impressed by the important work being done in support of our wounded heroes and their families by the Lone Survivor Foundation, and we urge Caniacs to join us in supporting this important cause on Veterans Day.”

Lone Survivor Foundation provides free five-day ranch retreats to wounded or recovering veterans and active-duty military personnel and their spouses and children.

“We are very grateful to Raising Cane’s for their generous support of our programs, which are helping thousands of veterans get back on their feet,” said Terry Jung, executive director of the Lone Survivor Foundation. “The contributions generated by Cane’s customers on Veteran’s Day will help send several veterans to our ranch retreats for five days of well-deserved healing and restoration.”

Raising’s Cane’s is in Parkdale Mall at 6155 Eastex Freeway in Beaumont and will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 pm. on Monday, Nov. 12. More information, visit www.raisingcanes.com.

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